Conductor
In science and engineering, conductors are materials that conduct, or allow the flow of, electricity. While most conductors are metallic, there are a few non-metallic conductors, as well.
In music, a conductor is a person who coordinates the performances and rehersals of an orchestra, choir or some other ensemble.
A conductor resident with an orchestra (as opposed to a guest conductor) who has involvement with the policies of an orchestra or opera company is sometimes known as a musical director, or nowadays by the German word kapellmeister. Respected senior conductors (like senior instrumentalists) are sometimes referred to by the Italian word maestro.
Famous Conductors (Direttori)
- Claudio Abbado
- Maurice Abravanel
- Salvatore Accardo
- Bruno Aprea
- Daniel Baremboim
- Leon Barzin
- Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli (brother of piano soloist Arturo)
- Leonard Bernstein
- Pierre Boulez
- Felix Carrasco
- Riccardo Chailly
- Colin Davis
- Victor De Sabata
- Placido Domingo (better known as a tenor)
- Frederick Fennell
- Franco Ferrara
- Wilhelm Furtwängler
- Gianandrea Gavazzeni
- Carlo Maria Giulini
- Nikolaus Harnoncourt
- Rudolf Kempe
- Rafael Kubelik
- James Levine
- Peter Maag
- Charles Mackerras
- Neville Marriner
- Eduardo Marturet
- Kurt Masur
- Zubin Mehta
- Dimitri Mitropoulos
- Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
- Riccardo Muti
- Trevor Pinnock
- André Prévin
- Simon Rattle
- Max Rudolf
- Michele Santorsola
- Wolfgang Sawallisch
- Claudio Scimone (founder and leader of Solisti Veneti)
- Leonard Slatkin
- Georg Solti
- Leopold Stokowski
- Hans Swarowsky
- Masaaki Suzuki
- Yuri Temirkanov
- Arturo Toscanini
- Eduard van Beinum
- Christoph von Dohnayi
- Herbert von Karajan
Especially in opera, many composers were also Direttori.
A conductor is also a person who sells and checks tickets on a bus.
See also Routemaster.